Lightroom DNG and XMP...confused.....

raider · 06-23-2013, 02:12 AM

Hi guys,

I shot in DNG and imported the photos into lightroom 4...and I have enabled the "Automatically write changes into XMP" in Catalog settings.

My understanding is that the developed settings will be stored in XMP sidecar files? But I can't find the XMP files anywhere on my system. Where are they stored?

Many thanks

raider · 06-23-2013, 02:39 AM

Sorry guys. Just STF and found out that with DNG files, all the settings are saved into the file itself. Feel like an idiot now.

**Kerrowdown** · 06-23-2013, 03:50 AM

Originally posted by raider

Feel like an idiot now.

Dinnae worry we've all been there, but not all will admit to it.

raider · 06-23-2013, 05:22 AM

And thanks for that :-)

**jatrax** · 06-23-2013, 07:41 AM

Hey, I'll admit it! You don't want to know how much time it took me to figure that out.

Cuchulainn · 06-24-2013, 04:27 AM

Just to be clear - Lightroom will write to the files with any format that it knows how to safely write the EXIF to. This means that many forms of RAW will have updates without XMP sidecar files. The Tiffs generated by Vuescan are also directly modified.

stormtech · 06-24-2013, 06:08 AM

Originally posted by Cuchulainn

Just to be clear - Lightroom will write to the files with any format that it knows how to safely write the EXIF to. This means that many forms of RAW will have updates without XMP sidecar files. The Tiffs generated by Vuescan are also directly modified.

That's good to know. How can I tell if LR will write to our .pef's without a sidecar?

Edit to add: I just tried it with one image and figured out how to see if a sidecar was created - with a .pef a sidecar was created. Guess I'll have to shoot .dng if I want the changes written directly to the file.

Last edited by stormtech; 06-24-2013 at 06:16 AM.

skyer · 09-03-2013, 11:33 PM

I am using cloud storage to backup my images. I am also backing up a Lightroom catalog.
I've read about .xmp files recently and decided that backing up such files is better than backing up the Lightroom catalog. All my images are in the .dng format and I found out that Lightroom writes XMP changes into the files.

So now I have some concerns:
1. If I enable "Automatically write changes into XMP" will it change the dates of last modification of my images?
2. The upload of my images to the cloud storage took about a week. Will it take another week to upload the XMP changed files?
3. Now I can reset all my edits to an image in Lightroom (to the original state). If this image with the modified XMP data in it is opened, for example, in Photoshop, will it be possible also to reset all edits or its original state will be the state when the XMP data was written in it?

Personally, I would appreciate sidecar files to my .dng files much more...

06-23-2013, 02:12 AM	#1
raider Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Perth, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,989	Lightroom DNG and XMP...confused..... Hi guys, I shot in DNG and imported the photos into lightroom 4...and I have enabled the "Automatically write changes into XMP" in Catalog settings. My understanding is that the developed settings will be stored in XMP sidecar files? But I can't find the XMP files anywhere on my system. Where are they stored? Many thanks

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Lightroom do not create XMP files	Laprou	Digital Processing, Software, and Printing	15	03-08-2013 10:45 AM
Pentax 645D DNG Profile inside of Lightroom	larkis	Pentax Medium Format	2	12-25-2011 11:29 AM
A question: Existing Lightroom Catalog and converting PEF to DNG after the fact	George Lama	Digital Processing, Software, and Printing	3	08-14-2011 11:34 PM
Confused about lens corrections in DNG	Clarkey	Digital Processing, Software, and Printing	8	03-12-2010 10:11 PM
DNG in-camera vs DNG from Lightroom?	rfortson	Digital Processing, Software, and Printing	9	11-02-2008 11:06 PM

06-23-2013, 02:39 AM	#2
raider Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Perth, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,989 Original Poster	Sorry guys. Just STF and found out that with DNG files, all the settings are saved into the file itself. Feel like an idiot now.

06-23-2013, 03:50 AM	#3
Kerrowdown PEG Moderator Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Highlands of Scotland... "Hold Infinity in the palm of your hand" - William Blake Photos: Gallery Posts: 57,819	Originally posted by raider Feel like an idiot now. Dinnae worry we've all been there, but not all will admit to it.

06-23-2013, 05:22 AM	#4
raider Veteran Member Join Date: Jul 2007 Location: Perth, Australia Photos: Gallery Posts: 1,989 Original Poster	And thanks for that :-)

06-23-2013, 07:41 AM	#5
jatrax Site Supporter Join Date: May 2010 Location: Washington Cascades Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 12,991	Hey, I'll admit it! You don't want to know how much time it took me to figure that out.

06-24-2013, 04:27 AM	#6
Cuchulainn Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Photos: Gallery Posts: 153	Just to be clear - Lightroom will write to the files with any format that it knows how to safely write the EXIF to. This means that many forms of RAW will have updates without XMP sidecar files. The Tiffs generated by Vuescan are also directly modified.

06-24-2013, 06:08 AM	#7
stormtech Veteran Member Join Date: Jan 2011 Location: In the boonies (NW Penna) Photos: Gallery \| Albums Posts: 5,744	Originally posted by Cuchulainn Just to be clear - Lightroom will write to the files with any format that it knows how to safely write the EXIF to. This means that many forms of RAW will have updates without XMP sidecar files. The Tiffs generated by Vuescan are also directly modified. That's good to know. How can I tell if LR will write to our .pef's without a sidecar? Edit to add: I just tried it with one image and figured out how to see if a sidecar was created - with a .pef a sidecar was created. Guess I'll have to shoot .dng if I want the changes written directly to the file. Last edited by stormtech; 06-24-2013 at 06:16 AM.

09-03-2013, 11:33 PM	#8
skyer Senior Member Join Date: Apr 2012 Location: Orel, Russia Posts: 251	I am using cloud storage to backup my images. I am also backing up a Lightroom catalog. I've read about .xmp files recently and decided that backing up such files is better than backing up the Lightroom catalog. All my images are in the .dng format and I found out that Lightroom writes XMP changes into the files. So now I have some concerns: 1. If I enable "Automatically write changes into XMP" will it change the dates of last modification of my images? 2. The upload of my images to the cloud storage took about a week. Will it take another week to upload the XMP changed files? 3. Now I can reset all my edits to an image in Lightroom (to the original state). If this image with the modified XMP data in it is opened, for example, in Photoshop, will it be possible also to reset all edits or its original state will be the state when the XMP data was written in it? Personally, I would appreciate sidecar files to my .dng files much more...